April 1, 2010

Coffin Never Placed On Congressman’s Lawn

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

(CNSNews.com) – Contrary to reports that a coffin was placed on Rep. Russ Carnahan’s (D-Mo.) lawn on Mar. 21 while the House voted on the health care bill, the casket was never put on his property and was not used to signify a threat against him, according to the tea party activists who used it.

The coffin, in fact, was used as a prop at a prayer vigil on Mar. 21 to symbolize the “loss of freedom and the loss of lives due to government medical rationing,” said the activists. Further, the coffin, made of wood and stained a medium brown, was always in the possession of Bill Hennessy, a member of the St. Louis Tea Party Patriots, and is in his possession now in his garage.

Hennessy also explained that the prayer vigil started in front of Carnahan’s district office in St. Louis and then was continued in front of his home. “The coffin was never placed on anyone’s lawn,” said Hennessy, and “the coffin was not left behind.”

Politico reported on the issue on Mar. 24 with a headline, “Coffin Placed On Carnahan’s Lawn,” and a lead paragraph that read: “A coffin was placed on a Missouri Democrat’s lawn, another in a string of incidents against lawmakers after their vote Sunday on a health care overhaul.”

Politico later updated its story on Mar. 25 “to reflect that the coffin was placed in front of Carnahan’s house and not his lawn.”

USAToday.com ran a headline, “Carnahan Coffin: Death Threat or Peaceful Vigil?” and quoted Jim Hubbard from Carnahan’s office saying the prayer vigil went “over the line,” and that, “This kind of rhetoric has no place in civil discourse.”